faith. friendships. belonging. - friendship ministries · i’ve known jack for almost 20 years now...

1 | Fourth Quarter 2019

Faith. Friendships. BELONGING.

2019 Quarter 4 Newsletter

Friends celebrate a successful Ride for Refuge, supporting communities of belonging and inclusion.


I know I’ve been writing a lot lately about my friends in our church’s Friendship group, but I am compelled to tell you at least one more story about a very dear friend of mine, Jack.

I’ve known Jack for almost 20 years now as he has been participating in church at least twice a week on Tuesday night Friendship and Sunday church. Jack rarely misses an opportunity to join in on most of our social activities at church, ranging from baseball games to picnics, potlucks, concerts, and more. Jack loves to be connected, to participate and to engage with his church family.

Jack is very intentional in his relationships, not just by observing or receiving, but actively participating and giving. While Jack has some challenges, he has truly learned to use his gifts of hospitality and love.

Even though my own kids have been out of the house and have joined other churches with their own families, Jack will still ask about each of them, their spouses, and their children by name. Jack has never forgotten my birthday, nor has he ever failed to give me a card at Christmas, Easter, and other holidays. Many others have told me that their relationship with Jack is much the same and how diligent he is in fostering his relationships with them, their children, and their grandchildren. Jack has used his gifts to bless those around him by creating a sense of family, belonging, and love.

When I think about our church communities, about Friendship Ministries, and of course about our relationships with others, I am blessed to learn from Jack about the

importance of ensuring that everyone is welcomed, loved, accepted and celebrated — in God’s eyes, in Jack’s eyes, and hopefully in our own eyes as well.

May we see clearly God’s purpose and design in each of us as we seek ways to belong, together, in His Kingdom.

Blessings,

Tom VanWingerden Executive Director [email protected] | 888.866.8966

From Our EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Photo: Golf Outing 2018 // Tom’s friend Jack (second from right) is deeply relational and values connectedness with other people.

Community For AllAT YOUR LOCAL CHURCH! FEB 29 - MARCH 1, 2020

Begin, share, and celebrate the inclusion efforts happening in YOUR faith community. Connect with Faith Inclusion Network to help develop your Community for ALL weekend worship and celebration. Let’s help develop the faith and disability movement and make all of our congregations “Community for ALL.”

facebook.com/FINcommunityforALL

UPCOMING EVENTS


Friendship Ministries Newsletter | 3

Bayamo Granma is a province located in southeast Cuba where there are two hard-to-reach communities. In each of these communities there are people with different kind of intellectual disabilities. In Guamo, one of these communities, there are 13 people with cognitive disabilities, while in Santa Rosa there are 9. Their ages range from 3 to 50 years old.

Yanara Aviles Dominguez is the person in charge of Christian formation in these two communities. She is based at the First Baptist Church of Bayamo and works with 4 volunteers from other denominations.

In addition to being very remote, these communities do not have the appropriate materials to evangelize people with intellectual disabilities. Previously, they had to improvise all the time and try to adapt old resources. But when Yanara saw information about Ministerio Amistad in a local magazine, everything changed. Thanks to donations received from Friendship Canada, we were able to send the Amistad program to both the Guamo and Santa Rosa communities.

“The Amistad program is the answer to our prayers,” she said. The illustrations are especially helpful in communicating lessons from God’s word.

In addition to the Amistad program, Yanara receives our monthly newsletter, where we share ideas and guidelines for the proper development of each Friendship program. She was grateful for the guidance we offer on abuse prevention, since many of her group members have been victims of abuse in the past.

We thank God not only for allowing us to be present with our materials in poor areas of difficult access, but also for your gifts that allow us to continue this beautiful work.

Elizabeth Rodriguez Ministerio Amistad [email protected] | 954.514.7960

NOTAS DE AMISTAD

CANADIAN CORNER BRIGHT JOY

Traveling to conferences in other parts of the continent often gives our Friendship Ministries team wonderful opportunities. In October, Shellie Powers and I were headed to the Umbrella Conference in Calgary, Alberta. Shellie is the chairperson of Friendship Ministries Canada, and we were both excited about learning something new at the conference.

On our way, we scheduled visits with churches in Leduc and Red Deer, AB. We presented our “Refresh” workshop in each of those churches and had some wonderful conversations with more than 30 people there. We discussed the heart of Friendship Ministries and the desire ALL people have for true friendships. Those meetings were great opportunities to learn and grow together. They were times of joy!

And that joy continued as we exhibited at and attended the Umbrella Conference, hosted by Centre Street Church in Calgary. The theme, of course, was “Choose Joy.”

The speakers shared ways that people living with disabilities and their caregivers can both choose joy and find joy. The keynote speakers were Emily Colson, author of Dancing with Max; Jason Hague, author of Aching Joy; and Barbara Newman, author of Autism and Your Church, Accessible Gospel, Inclusive Worship, and numerous Friendship curriculum resources. Emily and Jason both spoke of their experiences raising autistic children and of how the church met or failed to meet their needs. Barbara challenged the group by sharing some great tools for better understanding people with disabilities and ensuring that everyone in the church belongs and feels welcomed. All of them helped attendees see how the good news and the fellowship of the church can bring joy to people with disabilities and their families.

How does Friendship Ministries fit into that joy? I see joy on the faces of my friends on Monday night. I see joy on parents’ faces when they drop their adult children off at church. I see joy on the faces of the mentors who faithfully come each week to spend time with their Friends. Friendship is a bright light in the lives of thousands of people around the world—or maybe I should call it a “bright joy”!

Heather DeBoer Friendship Ministries Canada [email protected] | 800.730.3490 x 4279



“Everyone serving everyone” and prioritizing accessibility are two characteristics that mark this thriving group in Regina, SK.On any given Wednesday night, nearly a dozen paratransit busses from the city of Regina come to a stop in front of Hillsdale Baptist Church. The parking lot is crowded as each van takes its turn unloading passengers, many of whom have motorized wheelchairs and need a little extra help getting inside. The travelers, mostly adults with intellectual disability, enter the church via accessible ramps and elevators. Other guests are dropped off by caregivers and greeted cheerfully at the door.

In all, more than 150 friends with disability will gather here before the day is done. Some attendees are there for the singing. Others come because they were invited by a friend, and still others may be there primarily for the snacks. But no matter the original purpose, they all find a special evening of Bible study, worship, and fellowship with friends at the Hillsdale Friendship Club.

The Hillsdale Friendship Club is so large that local paratransit services notified the church that they were filling to capacity before every Friendship meeting! But it wasn’t always such a thriving program. The original group was started over twelve years ago by a young woman who was interning at the church. Launching the Friendship Club was her special project, and in the beginning it consisted of just a handful of friends and mentors. Since that time, it has blossomed into a huge community ministry. Anywhere from 90 - 170 friends attend on a single night, along with dozens of volunteers.

ACCESSIBILITY IN ADVANCE

To host such a large group, the church purchased and renovated another building in October of 2018. The facility originally had a wheelchair-accessible elevator, and the church added a wide wheelchair ramp accessible restrooms and other universal design features. After hosting a Friendship Club for over a decade, Pastor Craig explains that a positive shift has happened in the church, making them extra-sensitive to issues of accessibility, and elevating the importance of uniersal design in their congregation.

“Now, our first thought is, ‘What can we do to make things as accessible as possible?’” he says. “We have seen the whole attitude of the church change to a more welcoming and inclusive kind of environment. In looking for a new facility, accessibility was already in our DNA.”

A TYPICAL NIGHT AT FRIENDSHIP CLUB

Not only is the building itself designed with accessibility in mind, but the entire Friendship program is geared at creating a welcoming environment to persons with disability. The Hillsdale team utilizes Friendship curriculum with sign language, closed captions, interactive dramas, and videos to teach the evening’s message in unique ways.

The Friendship Club program is longer than a Sunday morning service as the schedule is a bit more relaxed. Pastor Craig fondly calls it “our fifth worship service” as they have four regular weekend services.

Group nights begin with a few moments of silent prayer. Then someone delivers a welcome and announcements, where they celebrate birthdays and accomplishments of Friendship members. This is followed by a time of worship

THE DNA OF FRIENDSHIP CLUB


with music and singing, and then teaching using Friendship Ministries curriculum. In the past few years, the group has worked through familiar studies like Living with Pain and Jesus: Face to Face. They have also dived into the newest Christmas curriculum, Magie: Unexpected Guests through the Advent season.

“Friendship Ministries is our go-to resourcing group; I’m not sure if we’ve used curriculum from anywhere else,” laughs Pastor Craig. It helps that Hillsdale is outfitted with a great system of computers, screens, and tech support, which helps the digital TOGETHER curriculum run smoothly. Pastor Craig explains how the Friendship studies not only provide good content, but also help leaders understand how to teach—simplifying the message, incorporating repetition, and planning engaging activities.

EVERYONE SERVING EVERYONE

“We have a gentleman in a wheelchair with a gregarious smile,” recalls Pastor Craig. “He is nonverbal, but he communicates with a tray on his wheelchair, and there’s a sign set on his tray: ‘Welcome to Friendship Club.’ He’s serving, it’s his ministry role, and he loves it.” There are other ways for friends and mentors to serve, too—the hospitality team, the coffee team, the prayer team, the sign-language team… At Hillsdale, each person is invited to take ownership of Friendship Club in whatever way they are able.

“Friends actively doing ministry. Friends serving,” says Pastor Craig. “That’s what reminds everyone we’re in this thing together as a team.” Throughout his years working with this ministry, he has seen clearly that it’s not a model of servant and served - instead, both friends and mentors encourage, support, and strengthen one another. “Friends, regardless of their abilities or inabilities, are part of the body and a way that God has designed the Church. And so they give and they receive, and in that, the larger body is blessed.”

In this way, it’s not just the official “volunteers” who are serving. “Invariably volunteers always leave feeling blessed, even if it’s been a challenging night,” Pastor Craig explains.

The impact of the Hillsdale Friendship Club extends far beyond its nightly attendees, however.

“I can see how much this has been a blessing to the overall congregation,” shares Pastor Craig. “It has helped us grow as a church in attitude, in joy, and in responding to the needs that the Lord places before you. The joy in the journey, where you might make lots of errors, but you step up and try.”

And that’s the invitation that the Hillsdale Friendship Club extends to other churches in North America and beyond - step up and try! What begins as a small, fledgling program can be used by God for amazing things.

“We would love other churches to carry the load with us,” says Pastor Craig. “It was an intern that started with a dream, really small, and little by little it gained momentum. There’s no reason why any congregation can’t joyfully go on the journey.”

Ready to get started? Check out friendship.org for resources on how to begin, join, or grow a Friendship group.


AYLMER CHRISTMAS PROGRAMBY TIENA JONES, AYLMER CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH, AYLMER, ON

The Christmas Program has been the highlight of the group in Aylmer for many years. We present it to two of our local nursing homes on consecutive weeks. Then our main presentation is in the church where we invite family members, friends, and the congregation. It is always well attended. Catechism that night joins us, too. We also stream the program to the local Senior’s Residence Common Room.

We present programs that my colleague or I have written or adapted from previous ones. This year we went back to a program from 2006 and did it again. It is very difficult to tell “The Old, Old Story” in a new, new way from year to year.

As you can see, our costumes are super simple, easy to manage. We use these same costumes year round for our weekly dramas in our lessons.

We usually have two narrators, one for reading the “story” part and one to read the corresponding scriptures. The characters then act out the appropriate parts. It is always a big deal deciding who will play Mary! We have the songs all put up on the screen so that the audience can sing with us.

We open with a welcome by a Friend and a prayer done by a mentor. To close the program, a Friend says, “Thank you for coming, join us for refreshments,” and another helper offers a closing prayer. And everyone is thoroughly blessed.

Does your Friendship Club or inclusive small group do something special in the community to celebrate Christmas? We’d love to share it! Email [email protected].


IN HONOR & IN MEMORY OF Thank you for your generous gifts in memory of Gladys VanSwol.We want to take a moment and say THANK YOU for your continued and generous support of Friendship Ministries. We are continually blessed by your encouraging words and financial support. God is truly using this ministry to bless his church!

To give a secure online donation, visit friendship.org/give

Please remember that all contributions are tax-deductible, and your support as we begin 2020 is more important than ever before.

friendship.org TOGETHERsmallgroups.org

888.866.8966

[email protected] facebook.com / friendmin

@FriendsMins

Friendship Ministries 2215 29th Street SE, Suite B6 Grand Rapids, MI 49508

Friendship Ministries Canada POB 1636 Stn LCD1 Burlington, ON L7R 5A1

CONTACT US


WELCOME TO FRIENDSHIP MINISTRIESWetaskiwin Mission Church, Wetaskiwin AB Are you starting a Friendship Group? Visit friendship.org/how for tips and downloadable resources. Are you looking for a Friendship Group? Visit friendship.org/find-a-group learn where the group nearest to you is!

2215 29th Street SE, Suite B6Grand Rapids, MI 49508

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PaidPermit No. 149

Grand Rapids, MI

What’s Inside: Notas de Amistad pg 3

Canadian Corner pg 3

The DNA of a Friendship Group pg 4

Aylmer Christmas Program pg 6

Fourth Quarter 2019 Friendship Ministries Newsletter

Photo courtesy of Geoff Coombs // A community celebrates belonging at the Ontario Friendship Festival!

CHRIST MAKES THE WHOLE BODY FIT TOGETHER PERFECTLY. AS EACH PART DOES ITS OWN SPECIAL WORK, IT HELPS THE OTHER PARTS GROW, SO THAT THE WHOLE BODY IS HEALTHY AND GROWING AND FULL OF LOVE.

EPHESIANS 4:16

faith. friendships. belonging. - friendship ministries · i’ve known jack for almost 20 years now...

Documents